“Israel’s” Obsession with The Karrar Drone: Hezbollah’s Technical Superiority Astonished & Terrified Us

Translated by Al-Ahed News, Al-Akhbar Newspaper

The “Israeli” media are preoccupied with an aircraft that “hunts [their] forces along the border” with Lebanon. The public has a growing appetite for any information coming from the “Israeli” military and security apparatus about Hezbollah’s supposed drone arsenal. 

The “Israeli” media has been sharply critical of the current failures on the frontlines, especially since the military announced last year that it had “successfully carried out a maneuver in the north to repel an attack launched by dozens of drones at the same time.”

The “Walla” website recalled that everyone was aware of the drone threat thanks to the Ukraine-Russia war, “but our army did not prepare properly and did not find an effective solution. Worse still, Hezbollah managed to destroy the military facility for the "Tal Shamayim" balloon, which is supposed to monitor, identify, and warn of threats. On top of that, Hezbollah is showing us drones carrying missiles that can be launched at a target, and the Iron Dome does not seem to be doing its job.”

After Operation “Kush”, the “Israeli” media demanded that the commander of the air force, Major General Tomer Bar, explain what he was doing.

According to a “Maariv” report, “Hezbollah has turned the ‘Galilee’ into a weapons research and development laboratory to manufacture precise and deadly weapons in preparation for a broad confrontation with ‘Israel’.”

"Haaretz" urged the public not to “believe the chief of staff, he is living in a movie. We are not prepared for a war in Lebanon; it will lead to massive destruction in the 'Galilee' and attacks on Haifa and 'Gush Dan'.”

Others had more sensitive questions such as: “Hezbollah’s air superiority continues to amaze ‘Israel’. How long will Hezbollah continue to freely use its drones in ‘Israeli’ skies? It has become clear that in the next war, the Lebanese skies will not be under the control of the air force.”

Then, came the cry of former War Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

“Everything we are seeing now from Hezbollah is just an experiment. They are simply trying to learn our defense system, our air defense responses, the nature of the response, and its speed,” he said.

The military tried to explain the failure by saying that “Hezbollah possesses very small drones. There is also the flight time, as the army does not have much time to prepare and intercept. In addition, the terrain of the ‘Galilee’ is very complex and difficult.”

After Hezbollah published reconnaissance videos under the name “Hoopoe,” fresh criticism emerged.

“You are lucky as a settler that you don’t know most of the information about the north, otherwise you wouldn’t sleep at night,” the “Hadashot Bazman” website said. “Here are Hezbollah drones that don’t require a visa and are controlled by remote cameras with an operator in the control room. What you don’t know doesn’t kill you now, and they are telling us: We are here, we are inside, we are planning, and we are capable of directing severe blows.”

“Maariv” added, "The Air Force has been sleeping on its nose for years.” At one point the level of irony peaked when someone wrote, “A black leather wallet was lost at the Haifa port. We hope Hezbollah will pinpoint its location with precision and high professionalism.”

Media figures quoted military sources as saying that Hezbollah revealed its drone arsenal in November 2004 when it “managed to infiltrate ‘Israeli’ airspace with the Mersad drone for 18 minutes and skillfully returned it to the place from where it took off in Lebanon. 18 years have passed since this force was built and strengthened, mainly with the help of the security industries, the army, and the Revolutionary Guard in Iran.”

The enemy is also obsessed with the Karrar drone. The Calcalist newspaper published a report saying that “‘Israel's’ security has become unattainable with the presence of the Karrar drone in Hezbollah's arsenal,” noting that the Karrar was developed from the American Striker drone.

The development included the repositioning of the engine from the belly to the back, increasing the fuel tank capacity, adjusting the wings, and reducing the weight to increase the flight speed.

The degree of rigidity and durability was also increased. It is a multi-mission attack drone, capable of flying for a range of 1,000 kilometers and at a speed between 700 and 900 km/hour. It can also climb to 35,000 feet like a fighter jet or descend to the level of treetops like a cruise missile to confuse detection. It carries an MK-82 multi-purpose bomb weighing 225 kg and drops it as if it were an F-16.

The Karrar drone has proven its ability to shoot down an American reconnaissance plane. Instead of a regular shrapnel bomb, Hezbollah can place an armor-piercing cluster bomb on the Karrar to threaten tanks and military headquarters.

It can also carry a light anti-ship torpedo or an anti-runway bomb that can disable airports. An officer in an important position in the air defense structure currently stationed in northern “Israel” summarizes the reality of the situation with Hezbollah drones as follows:

“In practice, a soldier sits in the Air Force control room, sees a suspicious sign of a plane, and must decide within seconds whether it is an enemy, a bird, a civilian plane, or an ‘IDF’ [‘Israeli’ Occupation Forces] ship. He marks it, warns of the threat, chooses the method of interception, and makes sure the target falls. We have had a few cases in which we fired interceptor missiles at birds. Our means of flying in the combat zone often have a radar signature similar to that of Hezbollah drones. Sometimes, an ‘IDF’ force decides to fly a drone without giving any prior notice. Sometimes, we shoot down our own drones.”